


Valentine's Day

by inahandbasket



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 21:26:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13690122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inahandbasket/pseuds/inahandbasket
Summary: How do you have Valentine's Day when you don't know if you're in a relationship?  What do you get for the person who doesn't want anything from you?  The holiday forces Jack and Ianto to face their relationship status.





	Valentine's Day

“Soooo,” Ianto begins, letting the vowel continue to leak out so that it lingered in the air. “Do we do Valentine's Day?” His fingertips brush lightly in circles on the desk that he stands in front of, and Jack sits behind, but Ianto looks anywhere instead of Jack. He tries to look nonchalant, but a blush runs up his cheeks, demonstrating his lack of comfort at the topic he has brought up.

Jack smiles a little at the adorable blush as he continues leaning back in his chair and fiddling with an unidentifiable artifact in his hands. While he likes to see Ianto so flustered, he decides to put him out of his misery. Although, he honestly isn't so sure about the answer himself. “You mean like a Valentine's date, with candy and champagne?”

Ianto tries to back track as he gets even more flustered and looks down at his shoes and puts his hands in his pockets. “That doesn’t really seem like our kind of thing. I guess I just wondered if you expected some sort of Valentine's gift. I just didn't want to disappoint you by not having anything,” he adds quickly. “I didn't mean that we should.”

Jack takes a moment to think and Ianto starts towards the office door. Just as he's reaching out for the handle, Jack speaks up, “I think I would be disappointed.”

Ianto stops short of the handle and turns back to Jack, finally looking at him properly. For the life of him, he can't figure out what Jack's thinking. “So you would like something, then?”

“I guess I can still surprise you,” Jack says, mostly to himself. “I know I don't act very romantic,” Jack behind and Ianto accidentally interrupts him with a sarcastic snort. Jack looks up, surprised at Ianto. 

“Sorry,” Ianto explains hurriedly.

Jack sighs. “No, your right. There's no reason for you to think any differently. It's only a testament to how successfully I've pushed you away.” Jack stands up and walks around the desk to where Ianto stands frozen still next to the door.

Ianto unfreezes as Jack gets close. “I didn't mean to imply anything, really, I'm not trying to push you into anything,” Ianto starts blathering as Jack reaches out for his hand.

“Ianto, it's okay. I'm trying to tell you that even though I will deny it, I am a romantic and I would like to give you a Valentine's Day present, even make a night of it.”

“Oh,” answers Ianto, who allows Jack to take his hands and hold them. “But it's tomorrow night and I didn't make any plans. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be sorry. You’re right. Before you said anything, I would have thought you giving me a Valentine's Day gift was presumptuous and demanding, but you asking made me realize that I would also be disappointed if you didn't. I'm probably not the easiest person to be with.”

Ianto relaxed and chuckled. “No more than me, I'm sure.”

Jack lets go of Ianto’s hands and sits back against the desk behind him. “I don't really know what you want either. Sometimes I think you want more and other times I'm sure that this is just to burn off some energy and frustration.”

Ianto looks back at his feet again and rings his now-empty hands together. “I don't know what l want,” Ianto says quietly to the floor.

“I don't think I do either,” says Jack.

Ianto looks up and find that Jack is looking right at him. Uncomfortable with the eye contact, he starts to wander into the office, further from Jack and the desk. “I know I don't want what I had before. I've only had serious relationships, and they're not what I want right now.”

“Too painful,” Jack says right away. Ianto turns and looks at him with surprise. “I feel the same way,” he continues. I don't want the drama that comes with it all and it always ends in pain.”

Ianto nods his head and turns back toward the door. “We’re on the same page, then,” he says.

“No, I don't think we are,” argued Jack, “because I don't even know what page that is.”

“Well, I think it's that we’re both very confused,” Ianto says, adding some levity.

“That we are,” Jack says, laughing along.

“I'm confused because sometimes you get all prickly if someone even implies some sort of label for us, and then you say that you’d want a Valentine's gift from me. I just hate not being able to anticipate what you want.”

“It doesn't have to be about what I want. It can be about what you want.”

“But it doesn't work that way, Jack, and you have to know that. You’re making all the rules and I know that I'm letting you because I'm too scared that you'll decide that I'm too much trouble to come back to.” Ianto is blushing bright red after this admission and feels the sudden need to escape the serious talk that has suddenly overwhelmed him. He starts quickly to the door, intending to get out before he can make even more of a fool out of himself.

“Ianto, wait!” Jack calls out. “Please don't go.” He seems to be begging, and that gives Ianto pause, but he still can't bring himself to turn around and face him. “Ianto, I feel the same way. You don't think I worry that you’re going to stop spending time with me when you realize that you don't really want to be with a man, or that you want a traditional life with a wife and kids, or even just to be young with choices and lots of girlfriends and boyfriends in his future? I just know that one day you'll look at me and realize that you're done with getting stress relief from me. I'm just protecting myself from getting too attached. And what happens when you don't realize it until later and then you blame me for wasting your youth?”

“Jack, that's not going to happen.”

“How do I know that?”

Ianto scoffs. “Just look at you! And then look at me. You’re clearly out of my league and can have anyone you want. Every morning that we haven't spent together, I look to see if you came in with Gwen, or just from outside in the same shirt as the previous day. I might not want the pain that comes with being serious, but it also sucks to not have any idea if I'm going to be with you again every time I leave your bed.”

“You really think that?”

“Of course.”

“We’re quite the pair aren't we?” Jack goes back to sit heavily in his chair.

“I guess so,” says Ianto, and he walks around the desk to sit against it right next to Jack. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked about stupid Valentine's Day. I just didn't want to do the wrong thing, and now I've gone and screwed everything up by talking about it.”

“You haven't screwed anything up,” Jack says as he places a hand on Ianto's knee. “We probably should have at least talked about whether or not we were going out on Valentine's Day. And we don't have to figure things out right now. At least now we know that we're both trying to avoid the conversation and worry about the same things. That should make it easier.”

“So, are we going out tomorrow?”

Jack looks Ianto in the eyes and leans forward a little. “Ianto, would you go out on a Valentine's Day date with me?”

“Yes, but we can't get reservations anywhere this late.” 

“Don't worry about that. I'll make the arrangements. I have some influence with some restaurants.”

“Okay,” says Ianto while giving a dubious look.

“Really, don't worry.”

“And what about gifts?”

“How about we give something small. Nothing big.”

“Okay, so something ill defined like us.”

“Yes,” laughs Jack. “Let's try not to overthink it.”

“Too late,” says Ianto as he stands up from his perch on the desk and moves once again to the door. Jack laughs as he watches Ianto leave. Now he has to think of the perfect Valentine's Day gift.

 

The next morning, Ianto is uncharacteristically later than usual coming in. Jack does notice, however, that he's wearing a particularly delectable suit that he has commented on several times. It's a bespoke pinstripe that sits tight across the arse. He wearing it with a dark red shirt and a matching red and black striped tie. Jack has trouble not dropping the files that he's holding. They're the very files that were going to be his excuse for going up to Ianto, and he now can't remember what they're about. Of course, sleep deprivation might have something to do with it, since he stayed up all night working on the perfect gift, not that he needs as much sleep as mortals, but it still helps. 

Since he's just standing and staring, Ianto comes up to him. “Good morning, sir. Can I make you a coffee?”

“Yes, please.” Jack starts to turn back to his office door that he's standing in front of, when he hesitates and turns back to Ianto. “And you look great, by the way. Very lickable,” he says with a wink.

“Thank you, sir, uh, Jack.” Ianto continues on to the coffee machine and Jack looks down at his own clothes. He didn't wear anything special, just what he wears every day, although it is just the work day. The date isn't until the evening.

Ianto is having a hard time containing his excitement at the coffee machine. He is very aware of Jack's reaction to his clothes. He was practically drooling as Ianto walked in. Ianto had spent too much time and energy picking out his clothes this morning as he wanted to look nice for Jack on Valentine's Day, but didn't want to look like he was trying too hard. He also didn't know exactly when they would be leaving for the date, so he wanted to be prepared for having to go immediately after work. All in all, he spent about forty minutes trying on shirts and suits until he found the right combination, and he felt like a prat, having clearly tried too hard. That is until he saw Jack's reaction and he immediately decided that it was worth it.

Now he's trying to make coffee and not read too much into Jack's strong reaction. Ianto already knows that Jack likes having sex with him, and that is probably all it is. No sense in overreacting. Here's nervous enough about the gift he picked out and whether or not it will be considered too much. He feels a little more comfortable after their conversation the previous day since he can just refer back to their mutual worries and say that he was afraid of not doing enough. He reaches into his pocket and feels it there, not having had time to wrap it properly or anything. He wishes he felt more secure about this whole date and their not-a-relationship. He never imagined that Jack bloody Harkness would be taking him out on a Valentine's date. He wonders if he should check for rift influence.

Ianto brings Jack his coffee and then quickly dismisses himself to the tourist center just to get some distance. It's awkward spending the day working together before a date, and he tries to hide away for most of the day. Whenever he does have to go into the main hub, he tries to just go about his duties and not be alone with Jack. It's not that he doesn't want to be alone with Jack, but he has no idea what to say or how to act. And besides, letting Jack only see him a little bit should be more tantalizing anyway.

The day is rather uneventful and everyone is relieved since they all have plans. Gwen won't stop telling everyone about the plans that Rhys has made for them and how she needs to be off early to get ready. She also implies that she's the only one with evening plans, never having asked the others and no one corrects her. Owen apparently has a date that he won't talk much about, and Tosh won't say if she has plans, but Ianto is pretty sure she does by the slight blush to her cheeks. No one asks him if he has plans, and he's relieved as he has no idea what he would say.

By the time four thirty rolls around, Gwen shouts that she's off and everyone else feels permission to follow her out. At the time, Ianto is in the tourist office and locks the door behind Tosh. It's still early, but Ianto goes down to the hub to find Jack anyway.

Unsurprisingly, Jack is at his desk with paperwork in front of him, however, as Ianto gets closer, he can see that Jack is only pretending to be working. Of the papers in front of him, they aren't related to each other, and one is upside down. Ianto laughs to himself and enters the office without bothering to knock, after all, it's not as if he's interrupting anything.

“Hello, Jack. Can I get you another coffee?”

Jack looks up startled like he hasn't noticed Ianto come in. “Thanks. That’d be great.”

Ianto makes one for himself as well and brings them both to Jack's desk. After handing Jack his, he perches on the side of the desk next to him. Jack takes the opportunity to rest his hand on Ianto's knee and rub his thumb gently against him.

“So, when's this date you promised me?” Ianto asks between sips.

“The reservation’s not until seven, so we have plenty of time.”

“You got a last minute reservation somewhere for seven on Valentine's Day? Where exactly are we going?”

“It's a surprise,” teases Jack. “Don't worry, it's posh. This suit will fit right in. You are planning on wearing this aren't you, because I really like it.”

“Yeah. Since I wasn’t sure when we were going, I went ahead and wore something appropriate.”

Jack looks down at his own clothes. “Don't worry, I'm planning on changing.”

They sit and drink coffee companionably while Jack continues to make little circles with his thumb on Ianto's knee.

Eventually, Jack goes downstairs and changes clothes after a quick shower and shave. He emerges in a suit of his own, complete with waistcoat, and his hair combed. Ianto is impressed with the effort, although to him it looks strange on Jack.

Jack suggests that they walk since it isn't very far and they still have plenty of time. When outside, it's a little cold, so even though Ianto is wearing gloves, he puts his hands in his pockets. He doesn't think about it until he sees other couples on their way to dinner and they're all holding hands or have arms around each other. Ianto decides that him and Jack aren't like that; they aren't public people. But then Jack links his arm through Ianto's elbow and pulls him close with it, and then Ianto decides that he is that kind of person.

They show up at a posh French restaurant and are shown to a table in a corner. Ianto can't decide if they have this table for more privacy or because they shoved in a reservation so late that they literally shoved a table in a corner for them.

Jack orders them some Champagne before the host leaves. Ianto puts his napkin in his lap and then feels fidgety. He isn't sure what to do with himself on a date with Jack. He's surprised to see Jack looking the same way.

“I'm glad you decided to do this with me,” Jack starts. If you don't mind, I'd like to go ahead and do gifts. I'm pretty nervous about mine and I want to get it over with.”  
“Get it over with?” Ianto asks, even though he's pretty much feeling the same way.

“I don't mean like that,” Jack backtracks. “I mean get the nervousness over. Whatever, here it is,” he says as he reaches into his pocket and then thrusts out a small package hastily wrapped in tissue paper. Ianto takes it gently and cautiously. He's worried about reacting the right way to whatever it is. He tries to get ready with a pleasant facial expression.

Ianto unwraps it slowly to give himself more time, but it's quite small, so it doesn't take long until he uncovers a small object, about the size of the palm of his hand, made of wood. He turns it over and sees that it is a simple wooden heart with something engraved in the middle that appears to be writing, but not in a language that he knows.  
Since Jack knows that Ianto will be confused, he doesn't wait to start his explanation. “This is a tradition where I'm from.”

Ianto jerks his head up at that. Jack is volunteering information about his past that doesn't involve an amusing story about a lover?

“It's called the Boeshane Peninsula, and I guess it's really a tradition from a lot more places than that, but we did it there, too. Anyway, we have a holiday a lot like Valentine's Day, even in the middle of winter, and you celebrate love and everything. Well, the tradition is that you give a token to the person you're with that's heart shaped.”

“You still use the heart shape?”

“Yeah, I guess we do. It doesn't look much like a heart, never mind. Anyway, you're supposed to make the heart yourself out of whatever is common. Boeshane is mostly beach, so we usually made them out of shell, but I didn't have any shell with me on such short notice. I just used a saw to cut out the heart from some wood and sanded it down on the edges.”

“What's this in the middle?” Ianto glides his fingers over the markings in the middle.

“That's where you put your name so the person knows that it's your token.”

“Is this your name?” Ianto asks wide-eyed.

“Yeah, it's in Galactic Standard.” Jack leans closer. “It says 'Javic'.”

Ianto is dumbstruck. “You gave me your name?”

“Yeah, I guess I did. I just thought it'd be nice to do something I grew up with. I like the idea of you having my token. It's supposed to be small enough that you can carry it with you if you want. You don't have to,” he hastily adds.

“This is wonderful, Jack. I just can't believe this. You made this last night?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.” Ianto keeps running his fingers over the letters of Jack's real name, and then realizes that it's his turn. “Oh, hang on, yours isn't wrapped.” Ianto reaches into his pocket and clutches it in his fist, thrusting it towards Jack. He opens his hand and presents it to him.

Jack reaches out and gently plucks the pocket watch from Ianto's hand. It's an antique, but not as old as Jack. It's got an intricate design on it, and Jack opens it up. Inside is an inscription that says, 'To remember, forever. - Ianto'

Ianto starts to explain as Jack gazes at it with an inscrutable expression. “I had seen the watch in a shop a few weeks before and I know an engraver who will do work while you wait. See, I thought maybe I'd give you something so that you could remember me when it's been thousands of years and you can't remember this life anymore. I guess I just like the idea of you remembering me.”

“It's beautiful, Ianto. Thank you. I don't think I'll have trouble remembering you, but thank you. It's like a token of my own.”

Before Jack can say anything else, a waiter appears with Champagne. They both wait until the server leaves before saying anything else. Jack raises his glass for a toast, and Ianto obliges. “Thank you for the beautiful gift, Ianto. Happy Valentine's Day.”

“Happy Valentine's Day, Jack.” They clink their glasses together and take sips. Ianto is so touched by Jack's gift that he suddenly feels more secure in Jack's feelings than after anything they talked about last night. It's like now they don't have to talk, everything has been made clear. Clearly, Jack isn't going to just push Ianto out of bed one day, and Jack feels secure that Ianto isn't going to leave him for a wife and family right away. If nothing else, they feel like they have some time.

Later, after having inevitably ended up in Ianto's bed, Ianto wakes up in the middle of the night. Jack is sleeping soundly next to him and he quietly slips out from underneath the covers and pads over to his trousers that are thrown on the floor along with the rest of his clothing. He reaches into the pocket and clutches the wooden heart tightly in his hand. He brings it back over to the bed with him and slides back in, up close to Jack, who turns in his sleep and throws an arm around Ianto. Ianto cuddles under Jack's arm and falls back to sleep while holding the heart.


End file.
